by Adi Joseph, USA TODAY Sports

by Adi Joseph, USA TODAY Sports

Zach Randolph, all 260 pounds of him, has a soft side. And it's not his stomach.

The Memphis Grizzlies power forward, one of the NBA's toughest players, admitted in an ESPN interview that he is terrified of cats. He also cries sometimes. These two things may or may not be related.

Randolph was in a recent episode of Animal Planet's Pit Bulls and Parolees, in which he helped rescue a pit bull trapped in a Memphis drainpipe. The All-Star power forward says he loves dogs. There's a "but."

"You can't be both a dog lover and a cat lover," Randolph says. "I've got a crazy phobia about cats. For some reason, I'm always thinking they're going to scratch me. If a cat walks up, I'm going, 'Oh no, this dude about to scratch me -- I know it!' Cats scare the hell out of me. I love animals, but I'm no cat lover. Guys usually aren't."